Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1887-05-19


the people then. That he secretly
feared might prove disastrous.
IL surely seemed strange enough thai
this great beamng bulk of ambitious
earth should feel chill of trepidation
run over him with tho thought, but 4
was notJohn Earling physically that he
feared, II was his principles, his hatred
of indirection and his tongue. Secret
ly he revered the young mans scru
pulosity; all his life he had revercnccd
honesty; from the bottom of his being
q worship of IL like n hidden incense
had wavercd up. but at tho top the
fires Of greed. the lust for power, DER.
Tapped and smothered t. lie had been
drawn onward through all these years
by self, by an appetite for possession
not appeascd by the sweet food that
even dealing brought lie had over
reached and he had been filed, and
out Of that plethora had risen a hunger
for renown. Should not that, too, be
n,etf Should he not ere the gracious
Christmas came again, 60 mp the mar
BILE steps with grc.nnessp Nothing but
death, he said within his heart, should
keep him from IT,
The campaign opened; an agent
from Joel with woll-lined wallet APP
pcarcd in Chicago; presently bio
graphical, lauditory sketch Of the life
Of Joel Whitney, one of the sclf-madc
successful men of Northern Illinois,
appeared In Chicago's heaviest daily.
IL was copied throughout the Open
stone district added TO, cmbellished,
and reborn. The flame was started:
Joel fed il with golden fuel; his agents
worked in all the primaries; brought
the nominating convention to Open
stone; set II up in the Openstone court
house, and set political Openstone on
fire.
Joel beamcd and sweat; Mrs. Whit
ney, who had compassed the situation.
flushed, and palcd. and saffroncd, and
shook. and Julius Popp. unable to in
dicate the distracted condition of his
senses by the position OF his hat, car
ried IL in his hand. The hotels were
alive with Joels men; the delegates
were dincd, and wincd. and smoked,
and soaked; no such man as Joel had
probably ever lived before; his benvv-
oience was unusual, his modosty SUI
preme, his business capacity phcnom-
email, and his ability TO carry the dis
trict as regarded money unequaled.
he tUdS nominated.
That night there was great bonfire
lit upon the square, that plunged its
huge tongues up into the darkness and
relit a thousand little fires on cornice,
sign and window. The streets were
aswarm with people, wedging. passing,
smoking, grinning, shaking hands;
fF.a es..1gtn.r I..aTNtvFr
with here aud there brawled up above
the murmur n drunken "Hurrah for
Whitney,
Presently Joel was upon a platform
speaking 10 the people. He was happy.
he was grateful. he was purple. lie
was showoiing them with English fresh
from the idiomaiic quarry with n whirl
of windmill geSticulation. He felt that
he was iclicitous-ho had treated
a good many dclcgates-and larded
the RIBS of his rhetoric with stories and
facctious filings at his opponents that
set the rabble in n roar. He felt that he
was a statesman, that he had found
himself, and he apostrophiZcd the flag.
eulogized the soldier-he made The
bulk Of his money during the war-and
poured the vials of his scorn upon the
unropentant South Then he beamed
again. and held up the Openstone dis
trict with all its prosperity, its patri-
otism, its crippled living and its inn
mortal dead, and the people roared.
How could they refrain? lie was so
happy. SO bcaming, so like a human
bonfrel Openstone was proud, at least
a part of it was much elated and
seemed diving TO yell.
Absalom Heater listened awhile and
then went home. and taking the twins
in his arms, shuddcrcd; this unwontcd
eruption in joel, to him, seemed some
thing appalling. But Julius was be-
side himself in ecstasy; he would
listen q moment his mouth would
slowly drop open, then il would yell.
II was a great occasion. aud Salyo
Popp's Adam's-apple, like knot Of
mercury, rose with the heat of feeling
until it seemed very nearly on level
with his cars
John Earling did not attend; all day
rnniors of Joens progress in the con
yention came up to the office Of Bower
Il Earling, and when the final an
nouncement was brought in by the dry
mouth Of Salvo Popp, Judge Bower
threw mis- head back and laughed. and
n shadow went over the Junior part
Eers face. To one the idea of Joel
going 20 Congress appealed like a
piece of ridiculous humOr. 10 the 9TH
er, knowing his moral and mental un-
fitness, like a dark injustice to the
people. But John Earling worked on
and In the evening was still at work
when he heard. coming in through the
open windows, the hum and shouts OF
the cOncourse that poured about the
streets, the music of band playing
upon the hotel veranda across the
square, and presently saw the tarry
volume OF smoke aud flame from Joel's
bonfire leaping up beyond tho tree
tops Of the court-hOuse park. He
could family hear. coming through
the iuzzas and noises Of the people,
the suck and hiss and crackle Of the
flames rs they fed upon the huge heap
of tar-smearcd barrels and boxes: then
Joel speaking. and the roaring bursts
Of applause, pierced through by the
shrill calls and yOwls aud yells Of boys
as by crooked, awful needles.
lie ceased writing. The noises Jared
himi and taking up n book he at
tempted TO fix his thoughts upon H.
Bat in vain; thoughts Of his own would
intrude, and he laid the book down,
and, leaning his forehead in his hands
upon the desk. let them have their
way. He thought OF the life Of this
man whose voice he could hear, who
was feeding the populace on froth. on
on gibes Could II be that
he was the peoples choice7 He seemed
TO be. Was his life a success? Il seemed
10 be, but there, ike half the worlds
shows. did il not endp Was life a sue
cess that helped only itself? OF what
actual worth was IL in realm
where millions needed help? Nav,
counting how sorely II gnawcd the
race. had not the space Il took in the
world been bettera' waysspaceP Ifpood